CRITICALLY endangered Javan rhinos – already a target of poachers desperate for their precious horns – now face being wiped out by a deadly tsunami.

With only 62 of the most endangered land mammals on Earth still alive, there are growing fears they will become extinct in an instant from the raging waters of a destructive ocean surge.

The fact the rhinos also forage in the shadow of Mount Krakatoa, arguably the most infamous volcano is history, only increases the threat of the species disappearing overnight from a natural disaster rather than being shot, trapped or poisoned by hunters.

To stop the relict population from dying out, conservationists are calling for a new population to be established away from its perilous last domain close to the Indonesian Sunda Arc, a volatile zone where clashing tectonic plates can create destructive earthquakes and tsunamis.

A new study published in Conservation Letters highlights the geophysical threats posed to the Javan rhino in its last retreat in the Ujung Kulon National Park.

The Javan rhino is the most endangered land mammal in the world

Brian Gerber - Fellow at Colorado State University

Scientists from Colorado State University are warning how a 33ft tsunami – an event highly likely in the next century – threatens 80 per cent of the park’s rainforest, and are calling for new populations to be established away from the potential disaster zone.

Achieving a new home range for Javan rhinos will be monumental, not only finding and securing a new safe haven with the support of the public and the authorities, but then identifying which animals can be translocated successfully.

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Researchers were able to build up an overview of the Javan rhino population by using camera traps which captured 1,660 images of the animals from 178 locations in 2013 and so produce an estimate of 62 individuals, almost triple the number thought to have existed in 1937.

In the 19th Century the Javan rhino was wiped out from most of its range because of the demand for horn.

With the poachers still lurking and the threat of a tsunami at any time, study author Brian Gerber, a postdoctoral fellow at Colorado State, says the need for new rhino populations to safeguard the species is paramount.

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Conservationists want a new population to be established away from its perilous last domain

He said: “The Javan rhino is the most endangered land mammal in the world. Now, we need the social and political will to move things forward and establish additional populations.”

Preserving the species also demands strict protection for the remaining animals, maintaining monitoring and also controlling the prevalent Arenga palma which shades the forest floor and limits the grown of its food plants.

Arnold Sitompul, conservation director of World Wildlife Fund-Indonesia, added: “What we found in this study provides good momentum for our efforts to save the Javan rhino, considering that we are racing against time.”